Nevadans or GOP? Heller faces choice on health care

Sunday, March 12, 2017 | 3 a.m.

Given that Nevadans are divided along north-south, rural-urban, conservative-liberal lines and more, it’s astonishing when 90 percent them agree on something in the political realm.

But that’s exactly what happened when Project New America, a progressive election research and strategy organization, polled Nevadans on the Affordable Care Act and the GOP’s plan to replace it.

“Overwhelmingly, Nevada voters are supportive of the specific components of the ACA, with as many as 9-in-10 saying that any replacement should not turn back the clock on coverage and put insurance companies in charge again,” reads a summary explaining the findings. “Indeed, while we see overwhelming support for just about every component of the ACA, voters also express that their deepest concern about supporting the GOP centers on (its) allegiance to insurance companies and protecting their profits, not patients and consumers.”

Hear that, Sen. Dean Heller?

Nevadans want the ACA to live on, meaning it’s critical for Heller to vote in their interests and reject the GOP plan instead of falling in line with his misguided party.

As reported by the Huffington Post, Heller’s stance on the GOP plan could be critical to his re-election in 2018.

The Project New America poll showed that his approval ratings among Nevadans are in the tank — 33 percent favorable vs. 53 percent unfavorable.

Democratic strategist Rebecca Lambe, a leading architect of Sen. Harry Reid’s dominant party machine in Nevada, told HuffPo that Heller was in an especially vulnerable position. Not only did the majority of Nevadans vote for Hillary Clinton over Donald Trump in 2016, but Lambe said those who supported Trump did so because they saw him as an outsider who would shake up the establishment in Washington — which they saw Heller as a part of.

“Nevada voters will not be giving Dean Heller that same benefit of the doubt they are offering to Trump, as they still see him as part of the problem in Washington,” Lambe said in the story.

Heller stands to fall even further out of favor among Nevada should he vote for the GOP plan.

But beyond his re-election chances, Heller should vote against the proposal because of mounting evidence that it will be disastrous for Nevadans, especially the rural white voters who helped elect Trump. As HuffPo reported: “For instance, in the Reno, Nev., market, a 60-year-old person who earns $40,000 would get almost $2,000 less to buy health insurance in 2020, a Kaiser Foundation analysis found. Nationally, the average cost hike for that person is nearly $3,000, and in some locales, such as Mobile, Ala., the difference is an eye-popping $6,000.”

It’s important to note that Gov. Brian Sandoval has said he would not support any plan that wouldn’t cover the 300,000 Nevadans who received health care benefits under the ACA, and has been critical of national GOP leaders for not seeking input from governors on their proposal.

The plan also has drawn opposition from some congressional Republicans, who have recognized that taking away something that their constituents like isn’t such a great idea.

Heller’s spokesman said the senator “will be monitoring (the GOP plan) closely.”

“He will continue to work with the governor to advocate for Nevadans who depend on Medicaid, while also tackling the problems caused by Obamacare,” the spokesman told HuffPo.

Monitoring isn’t good enough. Heller’s responsibility is to represent the interests of Nevadans, so it’s time for Heller to join his Republican colleagues who are lining up against the GOP plan.

Our voters come before party. Period. If Heller forgets that, voters will remember his betrayal of them when they next see his name on the ballot.